Native plant’s workshop in the Peninsula!

Next week we are having a workshop for all the ecolodges in the area about the importance of using native plants in our gardens, which is really important at this moment in the Peninsula because many places are using exotic plants in the landscaping. Of curse, our garden and sustainability coordinator are attending this interesting workshop.

No more regular plastic bags!

As part of the solid waste reduction plan, we are trying to replace all the plastic bags that we are using in the ecolodge for biodegradable plastic bags. These bags will decompose in the environment, leaving no harmful residual plastic materials.

More recycling!

Every year we design a plan to reduce solid waste, energy and water consumption. Right now we are focused in how to reduce the solid waste. Most of our trash is plastic (from number 3 to number 7) and carton, so, now we are going to recycle them! We are going to collect them and to Escazu (close to San Jose). With this we are sure we will reduce a lot the solid waste, for the moment we are working hard with all the departments to make them aware of the importance of recycling and to reduce trash, we want to make a solid sustainable team! And we know we have the people (the whole staff) for this.

A New Garden for the Carbonera School!

In the environmental education class in the Carbonera School, we have started to grow are own garden filled with different types of organic produce such, cucumber, cilantro and fruits. Is has turned into a really great project; we can see that the children are really motivated and taking care of the different plants. Additionally, our staff (and the teacher!) have helped out a great deal, making this a real community effort. We are so excited and can’t wait to see our plants grow!

Donations to the schools!

This week we went to three different schools in the area: Bambu, Sandalo and Agujas. We gave them some supplies for the school such as books, notebooks, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, pens and more. The teachers and students were really excited because they didn’t expect our visit. We are so thankful with our guests for their school donations, because the schools in the area have low economic conditions and many families can’t buy enough supplies for the kids. This really is a help and blessing for the schools in the area. To all those who have helped us with our donations: thank you so much for your support! You are truly making a difference in the lives of hundreds of children!

Taking sustainable practices home!

In an effort to extend the sustainable practices that employees at Lapa Rios learn at home to the general community, we are starting to give out a monthly award which is part of the sustainability contest. The idea is to give a little award (such as a bulb light, biodegradable soap gallon or recycled paper) to a person who shows a lot of interest in our sustainability practices. The objective is to start sustainable practices in our employee’s houses so that the concept of sustainability trickles down to our community. Lets hope this helps!

English classes for everyone!!!

The Lapa Rios staff is coming back to the classrooms! Today we are starting English classes and we have 31 students total (meaning that half of our employees are going to study English). The classes are free twice a week for three months, including everyone from our housekeepers to our guides!! Pura vida muchachos!!!